Naruto: God of Shinobi

Chapter 2: The Invasion – Chaos All Around

The arena was silent.

Not the silence of anticipation. The silence of breath held, of thousands of throats waiting for the sound of impact. Sasuke stood on the arena wall, his body perpendicular to the ground, his palm crackling with lightning. The Chidori sang in his hand, a thousand birds crying for blood.

He moved.

He launched himself from the wall, his body a blur of motion, the lightning trailing behind him like a comet's tail. The distance between him and Gaara's dome collapsed in less than a heartbeat. His hand drove forward, and the Chidori struck the Shield of Sand.

The impact was blinding.

Lightning exploded outward in a spray of white arcs, casting stark shadows across the arena. The sand dome cracked, fissures racing across its surface like lightning strikes frozen in stone. Sasuke's hand punched through, the Chidori carving a path through the dense sand, and his fingers closed around Gaara's chest.

The scream that came out of Gaara was not human.

It was the sound of something ancient and wounded, something that had been sleeping for a long time and had just been woken up by pain. Gaara's body convulsed, his arms flailing, his eyes wide and white with shock. The sand around him fell away, crumbling to the ground in great sheets.

Blood sprayed from the wound in Gaara's chest.

Sasuke pulled his hand back and staggered. His arm was slick with Gaara's blood. His breathing was ragged. The Chidori had taken everything out of him.

Then the sand spikes came.

They erupted from the ground around Gaara, sharp and sudden, driven by the same instinct that had protected him his entire life. Sasuke twisted, dodged, but one of them caught him in the side, punching through his jacket and into the flesh beneath. He grunted, falling back, and another spike grazed his arm, leaving a long furrow of blood.

He rolled, came up on one knee, and retreated. His Sharingan was still active, but his vision was blurring. The pain in his side was sharp and deep. He had hurt Gaara. He had hurt him badly.

Gaara was screaming.

"Blood! I'm bleeding! Mother! Mother, why am I bleeding?"

His voice was raw, cracked, the voice of a boy who had never known pain and was now drowning in it. His hands were pressed against his chest, trying to stop the blood, and the sand around him was going wild, thrashing and spinning like a wounded animal.

The crowd was silent. They had never seen Gaara like this. They had never heard him scream.

High in the stands, a figure in black robes moved through the crowd.

He was unremarkable, the kind of man who could disappear into any crowd and be forgotten the moment he left. His hands came together, the seals forming in a sequence that was fast and practiced.

"Ninja Art: Nirvana Temple Jutsu."

White feathers began to fall from the sky. They drifted down in a gentle cascade, soft and silent, beautiful in their slow descent. The spectators looked up, confused at first, then entranced. The feathers were everywhere, covering everything, and one by one, the people in the stands began to fall asleep.

Heads drooped. Eyes closed. Bodies slumped forward, unconscious and dreaming.

The chaos began.

Some of the Leaf's shinobi, trained to resist genjutsu, shook off the technique's effects and rose to their feet. They drew their weapons, scanning the crowd for the source of the attack. They found them. Sound ninja, disguised as spectators, drawing weapons of their own.

The fighting spread across the stands like wildfire.

On the dignitary balcony, the Third Hokage watched the chaos unfold below.

His old eyes were sharp, his mind working through the implications. This was not a random attack. This was coordinated. Planned. They had been waiting for this moment.

The Kazekage moved.

His hand closed around the Third's arm, and a kunai pressed against the old man's throat. The Third did not flinch. He had been a shinobi long enough to know when to fight and when to wait.

"Kazekage," the Third said, his voice calm. "What is the meaning of this?"

The Kazekage did not answer. He simply guided the Third toward the roof, his grip firm, the kunai steady.

Anbu appeared, moving to intercept. They were fast, trained for moments like this. But the Kazekage's minions were faster. Four of them rose from the shadows, their hands already in motion.

"Ninja Art: Four Flames Formation."

The barrier erupted around the roof, a dome of violet energy that crackled with power. One of the Anbu, too fast to stop, touched the barrier. His body convulsed. His skin blackened. He fell to the ground, dead before he hit the stone.

The others stopped. They could not enter. They could not help.

The Kazekage's voice came from behind the Third, low and amused. "I must say, sensei, you've gotten old."

The Third's eyes widened. There were only three people who would call him that. But only one who would call him like that. Only one person who could mimic the Kazekage so perfectly.

"Orochimaru," the Third said.

The disguise fell away. The Kazekage's face dissolved, replaced by the pale, snake-like features of the Third's former student. Orochimaru smiled, his tongue flicking across his lips.

"Hello, sensei. It's been a long time."

---

Outside the village, the Sand and Sound ninja were moving.

They poured through the breaches in the wall, their weapons drawn, their faces hard. The giant snakes that had toppled the wall slithered through the gaps, their massive bodies crushing buildings beneath them.

The village erupted into chaos.

Shinobi engaged shinobi. Civilians fled. Fires spread through the streets, catching on wooden buildings and dry thatch. The screams of the wounded and the dying filled the air.

Kankuro and Temari moved through the chaos, Gaara's unconscious body slung between them. His chest was still bleeding, the wound Sasuke had given him dark and deep.

"We need to get him out of here," Temari said. "Now."

Kankuro nodded. They moved toward the breach, leaving the village behind.

Sasuke saw them.

Despite the pain in his side, despite the blood soaking through his jacket, he pushed himself to his feet. His Sharingan was still active. His eyes were fixed on Gaara's retreating form.

"No," he said. "I'm not done yet."

He started running.

Kakashi stood in the chaos, his Sharingan active, his eyes scanning the battlefield. He had seen Kabuto and Baki slip away, had seen the Sand and Sound ninja pour into the village. He knew what he had to do.

"Sakura."

His voice cut through the noise. Sakura was beside him, her eyes wide but her face set.

"Get Naruto and Shikamaru. Wake them up if you have to. They have a mission."

Sakura nodded. She pushed through the chaos, her feet carrying her toward where Naruto and Shikamaru had been sitting.

Naruto was already awake.

He was standing, his hands in his pockets, his eyes fixed on the chaos below. He looked calm. Controlled. Like he had been expecting this.

"I'm awake," he said. "Shikamaru's also awake, isn't that right, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "You are really annoying, aren't you, Naruto?"

Naruto ignored him. He looked at Kakashi. His voice was flat, but there was something beneath it. Anticipation. Hunger.

"What's the mission?"

---

Next Time: Chasing After Gaara and Sasuke – The Invasion II